Two Posts Behind

I've been at the Holy Wisdom Monastery since the 15th and managed to get on the internet this afternoon, the 17th.

Thursday on the way down here I heard more about the Dow being above the 10,000 mark. It seems many people take that as a sign that "we have turned the corner." I wonder. The executives at Goldman Sachs are gleefully announcing that they have record profits this last quarter, as have a couple of other large banking institutions. These profits seem to come from investment banking, the same folks who were responsible for the creative banking that brought us into this current recession crisis. It is hard to celebrate with them. I think of the people who have lost much of their life savings, their pensions, their college funding, because they entrusted their money to these same institutions, and many of the very same people. Will the pensions be replenished, life savings be restored, college funds become available? I think not. Yet millions of dollars in bonuses are to be distributed to these investment bankers. Something is wrong with this picture.

I pray for justice for those who have lost so much of their money to systems and institutions that did not have their interests at heart when they sliced and diced investments and guarantees. I pray that those who are unemployed or underemployed will find a way to sustain themselves physically, will be surrounded by people who love and care for them and offer them whatever they currently need. I pray that we learn to again be a generous people. I pray that those in need will ask others to help them meet their needs. I pray that we all remember that God is the source of all good, that this planet is our home, and we are responsible for caring for the well-being of all the earth's inhabitants. Amen.